Try Just A Little Bit Harder
by nicolasamaria
Summary: My entry for Kiss.Me.Pink's Baby Mama Drama! Just a little one shot about Puck finding out Rachel's with child. Kind of angsty, kind of not.
1. Sweet Child O' Mine

**AN: Well my plans for tonight fell through, so I decided to write this and upload it now. I hope people post more challenges, it was fun to write. Anyways, I'm thinking that I like the idea of Rachel being pregnant with Puck's baby instead of Quinn. This story will stay a one-shot but I think I might start a multi-chapter one with the same kind of plot, what do you guys think? As always, read and review and I hope you guys all write something for Kiss Me .Pink's challenge! It'll be a blast reading them all. (:**

**Enjoy!**

**Nicole  
**

"You're what ?" he asked, his mouth hanging open in surprise. She had cornered him after Glee, when everyone was gone except for the two of them. She bit her lip and nodded, staring up at him with big, scared eyes. He cleared his throat, not really sure what to say,

"But I ..." he started, trailing off, what the fuck was he supposed to say? Her eyes were all watering and he wanted to run because he couldn't deal with crying girls,

"Say something." she whispered and he backed away from her, he ran a hand over his mohawk, suddenly wishing he had more hair so he could pull it out,

"What the hell do you want me to say?" he growled and he heard her gasp. He whipped around and she was in the same spot, she looked frozen,

"Fuck, how did this happen." he muttered and collapsed into the nearest chair. She winced at his crassness and then sat two seats away from him. He sat with his legs sprawled out in front of him, arms crossed tightly over his chest while she sat with her back rim rod straight, legs crossed at the ankle and her hands in her lap,

"I'm sorry." she whispered and he glanced over at her, still frowning.

"Well what are you gonna do?" he asked and she looked up at him, startled. She didn't say anything, her mouth opening and closing like a fish and he wanted to laugh. Rachel Berry speechless was probably like a once in a lifetime occurrence.

"I … I don't know." she said quietly and he wanted to reach out and touch her but he didn't. Because he was an ass.

"Well we can't tell anybody." he spat out and she frowned at him, her expression angry,

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because what? Because then people will know about us?" she snapped, "The Great Noah Puckerman slept with the freak. I can only imagine the damage it will do to your reputation." she hissed sarcastically. He recoiled slightly as if slapped,

"Berry ..." he started but she was already up and out of her seat, standing front of him, with a look of distaste on her face,

"You think I want this? It was supposed to be broadway, director husband and then maybe when I lived my life a little, child! And you … you smug bastard, all you have to do it sit back and watch from a far as I get ridiculed for being 16 and pregnant! Well feel confident that I won't be telling anyone who the father is because I'd rather die of public humiliation than tell anyone I actually had sex with you!"

"Enough!" he yelled and suddenly he was standing, his chair kicked over. He towered over her and if she was any other girl she would have been trembling. But of course, leave it to Rachel Berry to stand her ground and not flee.

"You didn't have to Rachel, you could have said no."

"And I wish I did, every single day. Do you know how awful I've felt about myself these past few months? Sneaking around with you? Every single ounce of confidence I had is completely gone thanks to you and your emotionally draining games!" he grabbed onto her shoulders,

"God, just shut up for a second!" he growled and she snapped her mouth shut but he could tell she wasn't done talking. He glanced down at her flat stomach and then placed his hand over it. She sucked in a breath but he didn't move,

"You can't just spring shit like that on me and expect me to handle it all … gracefully. I gotta process Berry." he whispered, not looking at her face. He was staring at his hand on her belly and her smaller one slid over it,

"I'm scared." she whimpered. He let out a nervous chuckle and nodded his head,

"Yeah," he breathed and then sniffled slightly, "Me too." He felt her other hand on his cheek and looked into her eyes, the way she was looking at him made his heart clench,

"I uh … I'm sorry about … everything." and he really was, he was sorry about taking advantage of her and kissing her when she still wasn't over Finn, he was sorry that he made her sneak around, he was sorry for seducing her and then getting her pregnant, and he was sorry that he didn't even hate her anymore, not even a little. He didn't say all that but somehow he knew that she knew. She gripped his hand tightly and pressed it against her stomach,

"We're going to be okay, right?" she asked, her voice trembling. His hands were shaking when he pulled away from her. He cupped her face in his hands and tipped her head back,

"Yeah." he breathed and then he kissed her, softly and tender, like he'd never kissed her or anybody before.

"I'm sorry too." she whispered and he frowned, tucking her hair behind her ear,

"For what?"

"For … what I said just now. About regretting that I said yes … I mean … I'm glad you were my first." He stomach did this weird flipping thing and his heart rate sped up and if the Puck from 3 months ago had been watching him now he would've called him a pussy and smacked the back of his head. He cleared his throat and smiled at her,

"I guess this means no more sneaking around." She gave him a sad smile and he kissed her again, trying to make the sadness in her eyes leave. She relaxed in his arms,

"What are we going to do?" she asked and he honestly had no clue because, fuck if he knew anything about babies or life at all.

"Uh … I guess we should tell your dads." he muttered, shifting his weight from one foot to another. Her eyes widened in terror and she shook her head,

"They're going to hate me! I-I don't think I can." she looked like she was about to burst into tears and he rested his hand against the side of her face, his thumb rubbing across her cheek softly,

"Of course you can."

"What makes you so sure?" she asked with a frown and he gave her a small smile and leaned in to kiss her forehead,

"Cause I got your back." the smile that spread over her face was one of relief and she grabbed onto the back of his jacket, pulling him closer to her,

"You do?" he nodded and she let out an incredulous chuckle, "You know this means you're stuck with me, right? Because I … can't get an abortion and I'm going to need you to get me fried chicken at three in the morning. " he sighed in relief, not that he was going to try and stop her if she was, because Rachel Berry was going places and he was gonna hold her back. But … he wanted to know his kid, he wanted to be there. He didn't want to be his dad.

"I think I can deal being stuck with you for awhile." he grinned and she rolled her eyes, giving him a watery smile.

"Thank you." she whispered and he was a little taken back, he frowned,

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For being here for me. I mean, I know I get on your nerves most of the time and my singing drives you crazy and you hate when I drink coffee because it makes me really hyper but hey! Pregnant women can't drink coffee, so that's good right?" she asked hopefully and he laughed her, wondering if she realized how crazy she sounded,

"Sure thing, Crazy." he murmured and she grasped his hand firmly in his. He glanced down at her stomach one last time and then looked her right in the eyes,

"I'm going to take care of you, Rachel." she collapsed into his arms, sobbing and laughing at the same time and he wasn't sure exactly what to do so he just stroked her hair.

"I was hoping you would say that." she breathed and he cocked an eyebrow at her. She was the weirdest girl he had ever met. She led him out of the classroom and personally, he was scared shitless at the idea of telling her dads but she was going on and on about making an appointment with her obstetrician and her small hand felt really right in his and he didn't even care that Finn was glaring at him as he walked through the parking lot with Rachel.

"Are you even listening?" she asked when they had got to his truck, he nodded once and helped her in.

"Hey Rach ..." she looked over at him as she buckled her seatbelt, "Thanks for letting me be there." she smiled at him and then turned on the radio, Sweet Child O' Mine cleared from the speakers and Rachel laughed happily,

"I love this song."

Yeah, things were gonna be okay.


	2. Epilogue

**AN: PLEASE READ! Okay, so I went back to the previous chapter to change a few thing so please go back and re-read it before you read this. Just thought I'd add an epilogue and let you guys know that Kiss Me Pink had made this a contest so if you guys dig my story then please feel free to vote for it! (: As always read and review.**

**and enjoy!**

**Nicole  
**

– – – – – –

"I hate you! I HATE YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS TO ME!" Rachel screamed at the top of her lungs as she grasped his hand tightly in hers. He winced as her fingernails dug into the back of his hand, he was trying not to take everything she was saying to heart.

"OH MY GOD ! IT HURTS SO BAD! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE!" she panted and Puck pushed the hair that was sticking to her forehead back,

"Just breath Rachel." he murmured and she let go of his hand to grab onto his collar,

"You try and breath while your pushing a watermelon out from between your legs!" she hissed and he held up his hands in surrender. She let go of his shirt and he stumbled back,

"I am never having sex with you ever again!" she cried and Puck slapped a hand over his face, she was nearing the end of labor and was getting pretty aggressive. She bit the nurses hand and then punched her father's arm, Puck had never seen her so feisty before.

"You need to push now Rachel." The doctor said and Rachel's face turned red as she focused on a spot on the wall. It'd been 9 months of easy sailing, other than swollen ankles and insane cravings. He had tried to convince Rachel to keep the baby, but she insisted on giving it up for adoption.

_"How are we going to provide for a child?"_

_ "I'll get a job and we can get an apartment and we … we can be a family."_

_ "No … no, Noah we're too young for this kind of responsibility." _

And that had been that. Puck was less than unenthusiastic when they screened potential parents for their unborn child. He had been the first to say whether or not he liked the couple. He always didn't like the couple and Rachel would scowl at him and tell him to be nice. But he couldn't help it. He didn't want some strangers raising his kid.

Eventually he gave in when a couple in their late 20's came in and the woman was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt and the man was talking about how he was going to get the kid nunchucks for his first birthday.

"Them." he had said immediately and Rachel smiled at him gratefully and kissed him on the lips before calling them.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Rachel reached out to him, he went immediately and let her hold his hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white,

"I … can't … do … this!" she sobbed and Puck pressed a kiss to her temple,

"Yes you can baby, just focus and it'll be over with soon."

"Push!" the doctor instructed and Rachel yelled loudly and her face turned redder than a tomato and then she let out a gasp,

"Good job! One more push and the baby will be out!" the doctor said happily. Puck tensed and waited as Rachel took in a deep breath and pushed again,

"And we are a boy!" the doctor announced and Puck watched as he held up this little gray and squirming person. He felt like he was gonna faint. The doctor cut the umbilical chord and then the room was filled with that baby's cries. The nurse rested the baby on Rachel's chest and she started to cry,

"Hello sweet baby." she whispered and then the nurse whisked him away to clean him off. Puck slumped against the bed, his hand still in Rachel. She gave him a watery chuckle and moved her hand from his to cup his face,

"Are you okay?" she asked and he nodded, then he kissed her hard on the mouth before they brought his son back. He stared down at the perfect little baby, amazed by how tiny he was,

"Oh … my … god." he breathed and reached out to run a finger down his arm, Rachel smiled up at him as she held the baby in her arms,

"He's perfect, Rach." When he looked into her eyes, she was crying and then he looked down at the baby and felt his eyes begin to sting with tears,

"He's not ours." she whispered and then handed him to the nurse,

"Wait." Puck said, reaching out his hand, the nurse paused, "Can I … Can I hold him first?" he asked and the nurse looked over at Rachel first, who nodded, before handing him to Puck. He held the tiny baby in his arms and felt a tear spill over onto his cheek,

"I love you." he whispered and pressed a light kiss to the baby's forehead before quickly handing him back to the nurse,

"Okay." he murmured and then moved to stand by Rachel. They both watched as the nurse took their baby out of the room. Rachel burst into tears immediately and Puck wrapped his arms around her,

"Shhh … it's gonna be okay." they stayed like that for awhile, until Rachel stopped crying and then he pulled away,

"I'm gonna go find you some ice chips or something, okay?" he asked and she nodded. He pecked her quickly on the lips before heading out of the room. It was like giving him his heart and then taking it back and sticking it with a hot poker. He literally felt his heart break as he gave his son back to the nurse. But that kid …. that kid deserved more than what he could give him.

After Puck picked up Rachel's ice chips, he wandered around the hospital. Somehow he found himself by the nursery and he froze when he saw Melissa and John, the couple who had adopted his son, standing outside the glass looking inside. They were smiling and Melissa had tears in her eyes and John had his arm wrapped around her.

"Gosh, isn't he perfect?" John asked and Melissa nodded happily,

"So perfect." He stepped back around the corner and went back to Rachel. They had moved her to recovery and she was sleeping when he walked in. Puck set the cup of ice chips next to her bed and then touched her cheek gently with his fingertips. She looked up at him groggily and then patted the bed next to her. He climbed in, wrapped his arm around her waist, spooning with her,

"Are you okay?" she asked, he didn't answer, instead he kissed her shoulder and tightened his grip on her,

"Noah?" she asked again. He sighed and she slowly rolled over to look at him. He brushed her hair out of her face,

"It's just hard." he muttered and she kissed him, his hand cupped her cheek and he kissed her slowly. She pulled away first,

"I want to have babies with you." she whispered and he cocked an eyebrow at her, she smiled,

"Just not right now."

He nodded because he could live with that.

All he had to do now was dream about a future where he'd have a daughter or son with her eyes and her smile. She kissed him again and then snuggled deeper into his chest.

He was going to marry Rachel Berry one day and then they'd have their happily ever after with a huge house and a whole bunch of kids. But for now, he'd just settle for having her fall asleep in his arms.


End file.
